Compound fabric



..( Nd Model.) I F. H. HOLBROOK.

i COMPOUND FABRIC.

No. 293,878, Patented Feb. 19, 1884.

' Eugen/f0 7'.

UNITED STATES- PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK H. HOLBROOK, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

COMPOUND FABRiC.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 293,878, dated February 19, 1884.

Application filed October 8, 1883. (No specimens.)

To all whom it may concern: Be it known I, FREDERICK H. HOLBROOK, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Compound Fabrics, of which the following is a specification. I

1 This invention consists in. a compound material or fabric presenting on one side a leather surface made up of split pieces or Veneers of leather, and on the other side a continuous cloth surface, to which the pieces of leather are cemented.

The object of the inventionis to supply the trade with anew article of manufacture, which, while much cheaper and in a much better form for use than the same area of leather as now sold, is also adapted for use in many cases as a substitute for-leather or for the various artificial leathers-such a's leatherette, and the like.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 represents a view of a roll of my-improved fabric, one end being partially unrolled. Fig.2 represents anedge View of the fabric on an enlarged scale.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.

In carrying out my invention I take a Web or bolt of suitable cloth, a, which should be strong, comparatively thin, and as free as possi-' ble from liability to stretch. Gotton drill is the best material of which I am aware. To

one side of the piece of cloth I cement a series of sheets or pieces, 12, of leather, said sheets being formed by splitting a hide or skin into thin veneers. 4 I havefound that by the use of a suitable splitting-machine about five of such veneers can be obtainedfrom a sheepskin of average thickness. Commencing at one end of the bolt or web of cloth, I apply the sheets of leather thereto in single thicknesses until the other end is reached. In so doing I cover the entire area of the cloth as nearly as the shape of the leather .veneers will allow and fill in the larger spaces between the adjacent edges of the veneers caused by the irregularie ties of the margins of said veneers by smaller sheets or scraps of the same material, the aim being to utilize the cloth as completely as possible.

, I prefer to use rubber or gutta-percha as a material for uniting the cloth and leather, the same being either in solution as a cement or in a thin sheet or sheets unvulcanized, placed between the cloth and leather and united to said materials by heat. In uniting the elements or parts of the compound material I employ a machine which heats and presses the parts together and winds the completed material in a roll on a winding spit or mandrel. separate application for Letters Patent. It will be seen that the thin veneers of leather are thus rendered available for sale and use,

the continuous cloth backing giving them Said machine formsthe subject of a toughness and durability and connecting them in a long series, which can be conveniently reduced to a compact form by rolling and as conveniently made accessible by unrolling. This material is an economical and acceptable substitute for thicker leather for many purposes-such as tops of boots and the uppers of slippers and light shoes, pocket-books, bookbinders use, and other uses too numerous to mention.

I am aware that a cotton fabric with a facing of leather is not broadlynew, such being described in patent of Pyle, No. 251,065, of December 20, 1881. L

An improved article of manufacture, the same consisting of a continuous piece of cloth and a veneering of leather secured thereto by a cement of gutta-percha, the leather being in separate pieces, as described, and the whole being rendered compact, as by pressure, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof Ihave signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 6th day of October, 1883. FREDERICK H.

Witnesses:

O. F. BROWN, A. L. WHITE. 

